Muscle Acre : 15km Review

On Sunday 16th July I woke up with a stinking headache, my body was achy from the 8km Obstacle Course I’d ran the day before and I was going back for more. Whilst downing black coffee and inhaling hot buttery English muffin’s I contemplated what Muscle Acre would have in store for us.

Feeling feisty we chose the 15km route, which was the perfect training event for our weekend of Tough Mudder/Windsor Half Marathon and a good chance to see everything the course had to offer.

The event started with continuous hill reps, which was a great way to ensure I reached my weekly hill running quota and weekly long run in one event, I love multitasking. Soon we were sprinting up muddy hills, feeling taking a deep breath whilst running over mounds of manure and climbing through an unused and rather unloved abandoned car.

Now I’ve ran a lot of obstacle course races over the past few years and I’ll always admit that I’m impressed with events that get creative, I felt that Muscle Acre really hit the nail on the head with this. I can’t say I’d ever climbed into a skip before, or incorporated not one, not two but three different kinds of weighted carries during an event before. As a matter of fact, it was exactly what I needed to push my limits in terms of distanced and endurance, even though the running was tough, we just kept on going.

The obstacle race market is competitive, with prices reaching dizzy heights and everyone competing to create the ‘ultimate course’ I felt that Muscle Acre struck the right balance. The price was reasonable for the distance, there was the added bonus of free parking and one of the most thoughtful goodie bags I’ve ever received. Oh, how can I forget? Showers! Any event with showers so that we can clean off most of the mud and dirt before changing to travel home is a winner in my eyes.

Would I say it was tough? If I’m honest, I felt that the toughest part was running as the ground was uneven and unforgiving, which becomes hard work over a 15km course. When it comes to the obstacles, there was a fair range for all abilities, help when required and just an overall, great course.

I know from personal experience that Marshalling can be tough and sometimes boring work but the folks on the course deserve some serious praise. Not only was everyone cheery when we approached them, we ate cake, jelly babies and enjoyed endless water stops, I feel that many events could learn from this.

If 15km isn’t your idea of a fun Sunday afternoon, fear not there are a 5km and a 10km option which means there’s something for everyone (no excuses!).

The lovely folk at The Lewis Foundation have made a video of the event, which you can watch below: